Marcus & Hayley in their studio - Video courtesy of Coco Chocolatier
About
Marcus is an artist and designer working from a studio near Stroud in Gloucestershire which he shares with his partner, Hayley. Marcus works on a wide range of projects including; Branding,Product development, Animation, Illustration & design
Marcus often collaborates with Hayley, a screen printer, on product based projects. The pair also create artwork and products for their In House label.
The Studio
The Marcus Walters Studio is the design and illustration studio offering a wide range of creative services from branding, design, animation and merchandising
Over the past few years, Marcus has worked with brands, big and small to help them visually communicate to their customers.
Marcus also collaborates with his partner, Hayley, a screen printer, to design and manufacture ranges of merchandise for Museums, galleries and independent stores.
No Rules - Just Art
No Rules - Just Art
Artwork
In House is a collaborative artwork project with partner, Hayley, focusing on print, pattern and texture. In House is about exploring the possibilities of printed artwork and using it to transform living spaces.
The first time Hayley and I collaborated on a project together was back in 2015. We had talked about doing something for ages, but work and family life always seemed to get in the way. One day I finally put pen to paper and left some artwork ideas on Hayley’s desk before making my weekly commute to London where I was co-running a design agency at the time
Later that day Hayley emailed me some images of some screen prints - she had printed her own artwork over the top of mine using water-based inks so you could see both patterns, making a third overlay. It reminded me of the story of the elves and the shoemaker, leaving something to be found and turned into something beautiful. These prints would become our first set of napkins and a way of combining our, often different, artworks.
Hayley and I have different artwork styles, which in part comes from our backgrounds. Hayley studied printed textiles and uses a more painterly approach whereas my training as a graphic designer draws me to create bold, geometric artwork. Having a fully equipped screen print studio enables us to use the process in a disruptive and painterly way, cutting, cropping and layering our different artwork elements over each other to create results that are dynamic and unexpected. We catalogue each series of artworks which are then turned into limited ranges of products from homewares to clothing produced. Producing everything in house also enables us to create smaller runs of artworks that are more sustainable and affordable.
Our focus is to continually evolve our artwork and find an application for it, whether it’s on a wall, a sofa or an object. The starting point for each collection of artwork is always inspiration followed by experimentation. Our resource material is often made by hand, from drawing, collage or mark-making, sometimes fused with textures and patterns we have found in our environment.
We have collaborated with many brands over the years to broaden our applied artwork creating ranges of textiles, ceramics and prints for Heals, John Lewis and Habitat to name a few. More recently we have been looking at creating new artwork pieces and products in our studio with a view to creating small batches of products using a pre-sale model, helping us to make only what we need and reduce waste.
Our Story
The Marcus Walters Studio was founded back in 2004. Marcus and his partner, Hayley, moved to Stroud in 2008 and moved into a shared space in an old textile mill.
Marcus studied Graphic Design at Central St Martins and worked in magazines as an art director before co-founding his own design studio working with the likes of Honda, Tate, Amnesty, and Innocent Smoothies to name a few.
He has designed ranges of homewares and prints for Heals, John Lewis, Tate, V&A Museum, and Habitat to name a few.
Hayley studied printed textiles at Middlesex University and set up her own clothing label after graduating. Hayley then began printing for other independent clothing labels from her shared studio in Bethnal Green, London.
Over the past few years, Hayley has increasingly worked on her own print-based artwork as well as continuing to print for a wide range of artists and brands.
The studio is split into two parts - Marcus’s design studio and Hayley’s print studio. Although they often work on seperate projects work often involves both studios.
